STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Turkey has suspended thousands of police officers, widening a purge of the armed forces and judiciary after a failed military coup

Detained Turkish soldiers were brought to court in Ankara today under tight police guard following Friday night's coup bid by a faction in the army.

Thousands of members of the armed forces, from foot soldiers to commanders, were rounded up on Sunday, some shown in photographs stripped to their underpants and handcuffed on the floors of police buses and a sports hall. Several thousand prosecutors and judges have also been removed.

The court appearance came as Turkey suspended thousands of police officers, widening a purge of the armed forces and judiciary after a failed military coup, and raising concern among European allies that it was abandoning the rule of law.

A senior security official told Reuters 8,000 police officers, including in the capital Ankara and the biggest city Istanbul, had been removed from their posts on suspicion of links to Friday's coup bid. Thirty regional governors and more than 50 high-ranking civil servants have also been dismissed, CNN Turk said.